From prize-winning pigs to corn dog-eating contests, from beauty queens to marching bands, from gravity-defying midway rides to miracle machines for back pain, from butter sculptures to demolition derbies, state fairs are a mother lode of pure Americana. State Fair is a visual distillation of Arthur Grace's photographic odyssey through fairs in ten states―California, Colorado, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia. Time and again, regardless of geographical location, Grace's images deftly capture the strange mixture of the traditional, the kitsch, and the off-the-wall that is unique to these annual gatherings, which began as a celebration of rural American life and have evolved into super-sized extravaganzas. Whether the photographs show the beaming pride of 4-H egg champions, the intensity of a tattooed arm wrestler, or a forlorn alligator waiting to be “wrestled” in a wading pool, the authenticity of Grace's imagery is unmistakable. You can almost hear the shouts from the midway, smell the animals in the barns, and taste the cherry pie. Sure to bring back vivid memories for anyone who's ever attended a state fair, and bound to entice the uninitiated, State Fair reminds us how much we still crave to go out and have real experiences beyond the fantasies we see on our computer, TV, and movie screens. It shows that far from being an anachronism in the twenty-first century, state fairs are a vital, living tradition throughout America.

State Fair (Focus on American History Series)

Arts & Photography

Grace, Arthur

Individual Artists

University of Texas Press

Comedians

Interviews and photographs of the world's greatest comedians show what it is like for these performers to live--as comedian Steve Martin describes it--"one inch away from disaster all the time"

Humor & Entertainment

Humor

Lickle Pub Inc

Legacywords Pub

I had always thought that when I was around 84 and Robin was 80 we could collaborate on a book about the golden years of his career where he could look at my photographs and reminisce about the events and his feelings at the time. Unfortunately, that book was never to be . . . . Photographer Arthur Grace first met Robin Williams in April 1986, at a comedy club in Pittsburgh where Williams was working to polish what would eventually become his award-winning special Evening at the Met”. The two hit it off immediately, and thus blossomed a close friendship that carried them through their increasingly successful careers. Told through a series of stunning photographs of Williams taken by Grace over the course of this decades-long partnership, Robin Williams: A Singular Portrait offers a touching and up-close look at the real Robin Williamsthe manic and happy, the pensive and weary, the engaged and disengaged, a true portrait of one of America’s greatest comics and most beloved actors. For the millions of people around the globe that Robin Williams has touched, these images, more than 150 photographs, a glorious mixture of stunning color and resonating black and white presented in exhibit format, will be something to embrace and cherish, not simply because of their exclusivity, but because of their intimacy and their honesty.

Robin Williams: A Singular Portrait, 1986-2002

Photography & Video

Counterpoint

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Books by Grace, Arthur